Chapter 605 - 336: Fulu Forest

「Before the palace gate.」

The Elder Sect Leader of the Li Huo Divine Palace, Qin Tianyang, and his high-level Elders all had ashen faces, looking as grim as could be.

"What do we do now? Are we just going to let this go?"

An old crone with a sinister face and dead fish eyes pounded her staff on the ground and said through gritted teeth.

"We finally found a path to the depths of the Immortal Mansion Ruins, only for someone else to beat us to it, seal the entrance behind them, and shatter our hopes. How can we possibly tolerate this?"

"How could we?"

Another white-haired old man said grimly, "Now that we know this is the right path, there’s no reason for us to give up!

It’s just a pity... we don’t know where Elder Song and the others have gone. Otherwise, this wouldn’t be so troublesome."

Core Elder Song Jinhai was the Sect’s most skilled Array Dao Grandmaster. Unfortunately, he had been separated from the Sect’s main force upon entering the Immortal Mansion Ruins and was now trapped in some unknown region.

Qin Tianyang turned to look at the thousands of disciples behind him, weighed the pros and cons, and finally said,

"We’ll wait for half an hour. If Junior Brother Song and the others haven’t arrived by then, we’ll launch a direct assault!"

’Give up? Giving up is not an option.’ Since they had entered these rare Ancient Immortal Mansion Ruins, who would be willing to leave empty-handed?

Given Qin Tianyang’s consistently tyrannical and domineering personality, he lived by the creed, "If I see it, it’s mine!" He would never back down unless he had absolutely no other choice.

Besides, the opportunities within this Doumu Immortal Palace were extraordinary. If another power were to obtain them, their strength would surely increase significantly, which would be an out-and-out disaster for the Li Huo Divine Palace.

Just then, flashes of flowing light streaked across the vast plaza again as the figures of numerous Cultivators in various attire appeared one after another.

"If they are not from our Sect, kill them all!"

Qin Tianyang commanded coolly, waving his hand.

"Yes!"

The surrounding Elders and disciples answered with a roar. In the next instant, a torrent of brilliance from all kinds of Magical Treasures, Talismans, and powerful Divine Techniques poured forth, nearly illuminating half the Celestial Vault.

In an instant, the plaza filled with incessant screams and curses. The few Cultivators who couldn’t react in time were annihilated on the spot, their bodies and souls destroyed.

A golden light flared, and several enormous golden Array Banners flew out, combining their power to raise a solid defensive barrier that temporarily blocked the Li Huo Divine Palace’s assault.

"...Qin Tianyang? It really is you!"

A cold, angry voice called out, "The Qingchen Divine Dynasty has no grudge against you. Why are you attacking our people?"

Qin Tianyang sneered. "This place is an opportunity for my Qingming Continent. Since you outsiders dared to come, you don’t have to leave!"

Ji Xuanchen, the Divine Emperor of the Qingchen Divine Dynasty, laughed in fury. "You old bastard. A mere second-rate Sect dares to speak so insolently to me? You can go join your dead brother!"

As the foremost power on the Qingchen Continent, the Qingchen Divine Dynasty was naturally stronger than the Li Huo Divine Palace. Ji Xuanchen was no harmless lamb, either; faced with this provocation, his killing intent surged immediately.

In a flash, a massive wave of ferocious Sword Qi poured down like the celestial river in reverse, counterattacking with a force that could make gods and ghosts flee and pushing the Elders and members of the Li Huo Divine Palace into a perilous situation.

Instantly, the plaza descended into a bloody, chaotic brawl.

Ji Xuanchen had no intention of holding back from the start. The hum of Magical Treasures and Spiritual Treasures, the deafening explosions of Divine Techniques, and the desperate screams and pleas of dying Cultivators rose and fell, merging into a cacophonous din...

As time passed, more and more Cultivators appeared in the plaza, their origins and identities wildly diverse. Some were native to the Qingming Continent, while others came from different continents entirely.

Almost none of them could stay out of it, and they were quickly dragged, either willingly or unwillingly, into the large-scale melee.

In just a few moments, bodies littered the ground and blood flowed like rivers. The mangled corpses of countless Cultivators were scattered everywhere.

「...」

Behind the palace gate was a quiet, elegant courtyard. After traversing a corridor hundreds of yards long, Ling Changqing’s party soon followed the White Jade Steps to the front of the second palace gate.

Xue Qingtan once again took action to break the Restriction on the gate. In just a moment, as layers of the Restriction vanished like smoke, the heavy palace gate slowly swung open.

"By the way, my dear, the Array masters among those Cultivators should still have a chance to break these Restrictions, right?"

Ling Changqing asked suddenly. With his own attainments in Arrays and Celestial Secret Technique and Divination, he could barely comprehend some of the mysteries of the Restrictions here. He believed that among the outsiders, there must also be Great Powers of the Array Dao.

Xue Qingtan pondered for a moment before replying, "Of course. As long as they have attainments at Rank Five or higher in both the Array Dao and Celestial Secret Technique and Divination, and are given enough time, they can attempt to break them. As for the price they’d have to pay... that’s hard to say."

In the Ancient Era, the Divine Techniques cultivated by Immortal Venerable Doumu were mostly related to the Power of the Celestial Stars, and the Array Restrictions within this Immortal Mansion were no exception.

Therefore, to successfully open the Array Restrictions here, one needed not only profound skill in the Array Dao Domain but also a high level of proficiency in the Celestial Secret Art and Divination Domain.

Zhao Wanyi commented, "Reaching Rank Five or higher in two domains simultaneously? Such a talent must be hard to find, right? They might be even rarer than a Void Refinement Realm Great Power."

Rank Five corresponds to the Divinity Transformation Realm, and both the Path of Celestial Secret Art and Divination and the Array Dao are notoriously easy to learn but difficult to master. Thus, it was an unattainable dream for most Cultivators. Even among those from top-tier major powers, such grandmaster-level figures were rare.

At the very least, powers in Yuzhou like Lu Hua Palace, Xianyin Pavilion, and the Liuying Family had no such individuals. Only the Deep Sea Dragon Race might have someone like that.

The graceful, noble, and stunningly beautiful Bai Qingyi smiled. "They are indeed rare. But in a realm as vast as this, such special talents do exist. At least among our Dragon Race’s Supreme Elders, there are two who can do it."

Ling Changqing nodded. The population of Cultivators in this realm was enormous, and over the long eons of evolution and change, it was normal for some astonishingly talented figures to emerge. He was sure that even Grandmasters of the Array Dao and Celestial Secret Technique and Divination at the Void Refining Level existed, and likely more than just one or two.

’In any case, once I advance to the Divinity Transformation Realm, as long as I’m willing to pay the price in Lifespan, I can quickly raise my Pill Talisman Array and Celestial Secret Art and Divination domains to Rank Five High Grade, becoming one of this realm’s few and rarest talents.’

Before long, Xue Qingtan finished her work. As a vast, smoky haze dissipated into streaks of light, the second palace gate slowly swung open.

After Ling Changqing and his lovely companions entered, Xue Qingtan turned back to close the gate, reapplying the Array Restriction to it.

"Sister, besides this normal path, there should be other ways to reach the depths of the Immortal Palace, right?"

Yu Ruoshuang, dressed in a black palace gown and possessing an intellectual, gentle air, asked softly.

Xue Qingtan replied, "Of course, but those other paths are more dangerous. Very few Cultivators will likely make it through, so we’ll face much less pressure."

"That’s good to hear."

The women breathed a sigh of relief. If they could once again take the lead and gain control of the Doumu Immortal Palace’s core region, just like last time, they wouldn’t have to fear the Cultivators outside.

Next, Xue Qingtan opened three more palace gates in succession, arriving in a forest garden shrouded in hazy Spiritual Light and steaming with clouds of energy.

As far as the eye could see, the forest stretched for tens of thousands of acres. Strange trees, each hundreds of feet tall, stood there with massive canopies like umbrellas. A gorgeous, misty radiance flowed around them, exuding a faint but latent pressure.

"Huh? Those leaves... they look like... are they Talismans?"

The Kunpeng Maiden, Qingsi, dressed in Wujin Soft Armor that highlighted her stunningly curvaceous figure, exclaimed in surprise, her pure and innocent face a picture of shock.

The dense leaves on the canopies of those strange trees were, in fact, countless Talismans of various colors, each shimmering with Spiritual Radiance. Their auras varied in strength, and there were so many it was impossible to count.

"That’s right," Xue Qingtan smiled. "This is the Fu Lu Forest deep within the Doumu Immortal Palace—or you might say, the Fulu Forest!"

Within this mystical forest, a massive number of High Grade Talismans were sealed, with no shortage of them from second rank to Grade Six, and it had every type imaginable.

The method for collecting them was the same as in the Treasure Mountain Secret Vault, though it consumed relatively less Power of Divine Thought. Each Cultivator could still stay here for three days.

"Let me try!"

the impatient Luo Qingning said. She targeted the nearest strange tree, extended her Divine Thought, and attempted to make contact with a brightly glittering golden Talisman to begin breaking its Restriction.

A moment later, with a barely perceptible hum, a head-sized ball of golden radiance gently floated down and flew into Luo Qingning’s hand.

"A Rank Four High Grade Golden Light Talisman? Not bad at all."

Ling Changqing took it for a look. This kind of high-quality offensive Talisman at the Nascent Soul Level was not cheap on the market.

Even though the Ling Family was now considered a Divinity Transformation power, their inventory of such items was small. It was also difficult to purchase them in large quantities, as it wasn’t something that could be solved with Spirit Stones alone.

"Alright, sisters, let’s get to work! How much of a personal stash we can build up in three days will depend on our own abilities!"

said Meng Feiyu, who was dressed in a bright red palace gown and was beautiful to the bone, her face wreathed in smiles.

The women agreed and all took action, Ling Changqing being no exception.

By a rough estimate, the number of High Grade Talismans in this forest definitely exceeded the entire stock of all the major powers in the Yuzhou Cultivation Realm combined. This was especially true for the various Talismans of Rank Five and above, which were all extremely precious strategic resources.

Ling Changqing wisely ignored all Talismans below Rank Four, his eyes fixed only on those of Rank Five and above as he extended his vast and powerful Divine Thought.

A dozen or so breaths later, with a soft CRACK, an ice-blue ball of light floated down gently and was successfully collected by him.

Bai Qingyi glanced over. It was a Rank Five Middle Grade "Ice and Snow Realm," a large-area-of-effect offensive Talisman, which was an excellent tool in group battles.

Nearby, Ling Bingyun also managed to get one, but it was only a Third Grade "Blazing Thunderbolt," which left her a bit frustrated, though she put it away all the same.

Ling Changqing didn’t mind. The higher the grade of the Talisman, the greater the difficulty in collecting it. The process was closely related to one’s own Cultivation and Divine Soul strength, and of course, the most important factor of all: luck.

Thus, how much the women could harvest, and the quality of their harvest, was all up to fate. It couldn’t be forced.